The subject matter herein relates generally to terminal feed mechanisms for terminal crimping machines.
Electrical terminals are typically crimped onto wires by an applicator of a terminal crimping machine to form a lead. In operation, a terminal is placed in a crimping zone, and a wire is inserted into the ferrule or barrel of the terminal. A ram is caused to move along a crimp stroke toward the base, thereby crimping the terminal onto the wire. The terminals, prior to crimping, are typically provided in strip form. The strip of terminals (e.g., terminal strip) is manually loaded into the crimping machine by an operator. The position of the terminal strip is important to overall performance because terminal strip positioning directly affects the presentment of the attached terminal that is located within the crimping zone. A terminal that is not properly located in either the side-to-side or front-to-back directions of the crimping zone will not meet crimp specifications after it is crimped to a wire. Leads that do not meet crimp specifications are discarded.
At present, mechanisms that guide the terminal strip towards the crimping zone are adjusted at the manufacturing facility and fastened in place. In use, even slight variations in the size and/or dimensions of the terminals and/or terminal strip require a manual guide adjustment process that includes applicator disassembly, terminator strip guide adjustment, reassembly of the applicator, and finally adjustment to a feeder device that feeds the terminal strip to the crimping zone. This guide adjustment process is complex, time-consuming, and reduces efficiency as no leads can be produced while the adjustments are being made.
Another issue with terminal guide mechanisms is that they often require an additional component, sometimes referred to as a drag, that acts as a brake to prevent the terminal strip from unintentional movement in a reverse direction away from the crimping zone. For example, the feeder device may have an extension that mechanically forces the terminal strip towards the crimping zone, but as the extension lifts off of the strip to cycle back and begin a new repetition, the extension may catch a part of the strip and pull it at least slightly away from the crimping zone, potentially misaligning the terminal in the crimping zone. A drag component may be installed to prevent such rearward movement of the terminal strip, but it is an additional component which adds an additional cost and further complicates the adjustment process.
A need remains for a feed mechanism for a terminal crimping machine that simplifies if not eliminates guide adjustment and removes the need for a drag component.